Christina Aguilera Shows Support for Bullied National Anthem Singer

Christina Aguilera may have a divalicious rap, but the girl with the big voice also has a big heart. The ‘Beautiful’ songstress reached out to an 11-year-old songstress who faced a whole lot of heat for what can best be described as an overwhelming performance — for all the wrong reasons — of ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’

Pint-sized Harper Gruzins performed the national anthem in front of a huge crowd at an FC Dallas soccer game, and it was far from the best rendition of the revered tune. The camera actually panned out into the audience during her performance, and their faces were pretty priceless, if cruel — but upon hearing her sing, yours may not look much different. The girl simply did not sing well, but bear in mind that she’s freakin’ 11 years old.

The outcry following Gruzins’ painful performance was worse than her singing of the song itself. Internet creeps actually wished harm on the girl, who, to reiterate, is 11 years old. So she’s not a prodigy like Xtina was at her age. Few people are. She’s got plenty of time to grow and get voice lessons, people.

Xtina herself heard about Gruzins being bullied following her performance, and the resident diva of ‘The Voice’ responded with a simple but incredibly moving gesture. Aguilera sent Gruzins a note, writing, “Harper, you had the courage to sing in front of thousands of people and I applaud you. Keep your head up high and keep trying. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

You go, Xtina!

Gruzins’ performance likely stirred up bad memories of Aguilera’s own botched performance of the national anthem, in which her voice sounded fine, but she sang the wrong lyrics. In any case, we bet the Fray are heaving a huge sigh of relief.